Trail Blazers' Nic Batum Records Rare Stat Line Friday

Portland Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum had 22 points, 18 rebounds, five assists and four three-pointers in Friday's 111-103 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, becoming the fourth player in NBA history to reach all four of those statistical marks in one game, per NBA.com/Stats.

Known for his across-the-board statistical contributions, the versatile Batum has been surprisingly active on the boards recently, averaging 13.3 rebounds through eight March games. Per the Trail Blazers' Twitter account, Batum has four games with 15-plus rebounds in his career, and all four of those games have come since the beginning of March.

While the recent rebounding streak has largely been a product of Batum's strong performance, it's impossible to ignore the fact that his three lowest rebounding totals this month coincide with LaMarcus Aldridge's three highest minutes totals. With Aldridge limited by a back injury, Portland has been using smaller lineups that require Batum to take on more of a rebounding role than he is used to.

Thus, it should come as no surprise that Batum had a strong night on the boards Friday, as Aldridge sat out entirely for the first time since Feb. 26. Eighteen rebounds can never be expected, but Batum entered the game with a solid chance to crack double digits.

What figured to be a good night turned into a great one, with Batum joining LeBron James, Kevin Love and Antoine Walker as one of four players to post 22 points, 18 rebounds, five assists and four treys in a single game, per the Trail Blazers' official Twitter account.

Now, Batum can try to become the first player to accomplish the feat twice, although Love and James obviously have better odds.